A presentation I designed about the Glock 17 Pistol, a product I knew very little about but discovered that it was supposed to be the most innovative pistol in modern times.

1. The Glock 17 Pistol
Innovation
of the
Plastic Pistol
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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2. The Glock Company
founded:
by: Gaston Glock
Gaston Glock was
born in Austria in
1929 and educated
in: Deutsch-Wagram,
in Germany as a metal Austria
and plastics engineer
and an amateur gun
designer and gun
sports person.
Manufactured plastic training grenades, entrenching tools and
commando knives for the Austrian Army. BUT NO GUNS.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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3. Austrian Army Needs A Gun
In 1980, the Austrian Army put out a world wide call for a new standard pistol,
they put forth the following 17 criteria that must be met or exceeded.
1. Must be semi-automatic
2. Must fire the 9mm parabellum round
3. Muzzle energy must meet a designated standard
4. Magazine must be loaded without use of tools
5. Magazine must hold at least eight rounds
6. Must be able to be used with only one hand
7. Must continue to function after being dropped onto a steel plate from a height of two meters
8. Must be easy to dismantle without tools
9. Maintenance and cleaning must be possible without tools
10. Gages and other measuring devices must not be necessary for long-term maintenance
11. Total number of parts must be 58 or less
12. Manufacturer must supply complete blueprints along with the test pistol
13. All component parts must be interchangeable with other pistols of the same design without adjustments
14. No more than 20 malfunctions will be permitted in the first 10,000 rounds fired
15. After 15,000 rounds all parts must be secure and intact, even under stress of a “proof round” at 15,001
16. Case ejection must not endanger the shooter
17. If no submitted pistol achieves more than a score of 70%, then no pistol at all will be accepted
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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4. The Glock 17 Design Process
Interdisciplinary Team
Ergonomic Research
Prototype, Prototype
Materials Research
Gaston Glock designed his pistol by merging his plastics and metals expertise with the work
of 10 European gun designers and ergonomics researchers. Common pistol design at the time
centered around adding features to new to previous models the company had built. Glock
had never produced a gun before so they got to start with no preconceived notion and break
common pistol design conventions.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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5. Safety Innovations
When it was first released in 1983, the Glock 17 was called the first “safe-action”
pistol because it had more safety features than any other pistol. Almost 30 years
later, Glock pistols still have more safety features than any other pistol manufactured.
Firing Pin Safety
A solid steel pin which blocks
Drop Safety the Glock’s firing chamber
A small bar is engaged at all making bullets unable to fire,
times preventing ammunition is only disengaged when the
from being fed to the firing trigger safety is appropriately
mechanism, thus preventing disengaged.
discharge from drop impacts,
the drop safety is removed Trigger Safety
only when the trigger safety is Prevents accidental firing by
successfully disengaged. lateral forces, re-engages
automatically after every time
the trigger is pulled.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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6. Materials Innovations
Tenifer-Treated Slide Polymer Frame
and Barrel The Glock frame is the first serviceable
The few sole steel pieces of the gun pistol to be made mostly of plastic. The
are made with a proprietary “Tenifer” plastic is a high-tech polymer made of
process that enriches the steel with Nylon 6. This polymer is stronger than
oxygen, sealing the pores, making its aluminum or steel, but also lighter and
hardness characteristics the same as cheaper than either. It also can’t rust
industrial diamond. The slide of the gun and is immune to harsh gun cleaning
is so hard that it can be used to sharpen solvents and can withstand heat up to
knives. Testing has shown that Glock 17s 400°F. Also polymer isn’t as rigid as
can shoot one-million rounds and the steel or aluminum, it flexes during firing,
barrel and slide will show minimal wear absorbing recoil and making the gun
and still be very accurate. more comfortable for constant use.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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7. Functional Innovations
Just 33
Parts
Other widely used pistols are made of upwards of 60
parts. The Glock 17 can also be easily disassembled
with nothing more than a nail, pen or an other long,
skinny, sturdy item.
Holds 17
Rounds
Other widely used pistols hold only between 8-14 rounds.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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8. The Glock 17’s Adoption
Since Glock 17s started selling in 1983, more than 2.5 Million have been sold
to the militaries and police of over 50 nations. The success of the 17 led to the
development of 20 more models of Glock brand pistols.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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9. Glock17s In Pop Culture
Mentioned or Seen In:
148 Songs
48 Movies
20 TV Shows
4 Cartoons
16 Video Games
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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10. Questions/References
www.imfdb.org
www.businessweek.com
www.glock.com
www.mouseguns.com
www.glockfaq.com
Lidwell, William. Deconstructing Product Design
Exploring the Form, Function, and Usability of
100 Amazing Products. New York: Rockport,
2008. Print.
Sweeney, Patrick. The Gun Digest Book of
the Glock: A Comprehensive Review Design,
History, Use (Gun Digest). Minneapolis: Krause
Publications, 2003. Print.
Shay Merritté • Product Innovation Assignment • January 19, 2010 Bus M&L 855 Innovation Practice • The Ohio State University • Prof. Michael Bills
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